"“I believe that you will never bore of something that you are truly interested in….Do what you enjoy best and what makes you most curious."

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Alison Goligher

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1965

Bachelor of Science, Mathematical Physics,

Master of Engineering, Petroleum Engineering

Field of work

Field operations, recruiting, product development, Management, Marketing

Areas of interest outside work

Art, travel, music, history, gardening

At school I was good at maths, history and Latin. I also enjoyed puzzles a lot and drifted into sciences after advice from my parents that there were more career opportunities than in the arts. My mother was very good at maths, and she probably influenced me to continue with it. Also, I was fascinated by astronomy and wanting to understand more about what and where we were in relation to everything around us. Attending an all girls school I think gave me a very even view of what I really wanted to do and less of what was expected of me to do. As I have no brothers, I was unaware that what I enjoyed was somehow unusual until I was old enough not to worry about it!
Following science is something I have never regretted. My work has given me the opportunity to meet and deal with so many different types of people and watch how different personalities and cultures react in this very diverse organization of ours.

In product development, you listen, learn, evaluate and decide. You listen to descriptions of the technologies we have to solve the problems we face; you learn what else we could do or what is available elsewhere; you evaluate various courses of action in light of time, resources and customer needs; and you decide how to proceed.

Solving problems is very satisfying, but without a doubt the thing I enjoy most is seeing people achieve something they never thought they could. I also love the travel that comes with my job. Nearly everywhere I go I see old friends, put a face to a voice or an eMail address and make new friends.

I believe that you will never bore of something that you are truly interested in. I would also warn against doing what is expected of you or what everyone else does. Do what you enjoy best and what makes you most curious.